Unique aspects of the game are often brought in by Sri Lanka. Back in the day, Sri Lanka mastered the concept of making use of the field restrictions with powerful openers. Later on, with Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka found an unorthodox off-spinner, who uses his wrists to generate interesting revolutions. The slingers then came in with Lasith Malinga leading the way followed by the next generation in Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara.

Among spinners in particular, variety has been all there. Muralitharan had huge turning off-spinners and doosras, helped by a condition in his arm. Ajantha Mendis was one of the few to master the carrom ball and Maheesh Theekshana now attempts to make use of the same weapon. The recent addition to a unique array of skills is Kamindu Mendis, who can bowl off-spin with both hands.

When he made his debut back in 2018, Kamindu Mendis was in the limelight for that one aspect of his game, his bowling with both hands. In T20s in particular, spinning the ball away from batters is something that is well sought after. Bowlers who spin the ball away tend to contain batters, staying away from their hitting arc. He did a decent job in that first series with quiet and tidy spells. Kamindu Mendis though evolved differently. As a Cricketer, his bowling skills are interesting but he is a far better batter. Six years down the road, a T20 Analysts dream is now proving to be a star in Test Cricket. After seven innings he now has an average of 90, with a century in England as well.

His talent was clear with the bat with Kamindu Mendis taking his time to wait for the bad balls. In T20Is, he is a top order option for Sri Lanka and has given some strong performances in both T20is and in the Lanka Premier League. In the field as well he has shown to be very dynamic. His fielding has proven to be dynamic with skill in the slips and outfield too. With the ball as well he has both hands to bowl and take advantage of turning the ball away. With the bat though, he has shown a lot of variety early on. He has proven to be a worthy end overs hitter, top-order batter, and can accumulate runs at a good pace as well. While Sri Lanka has not been at their best in Test Cricket, Kamindu Mendis is giving them something to look at. He has the skill and Sri Lanka could be looking at another unique star.